Product Design

Product design is the discipline of creating objects, services, and systems that serve human needs with elegance, practicality, and purpose. It rewards those who are willing to question existing solutions, take creative risks, and think about the full experience of using something, not just its appearance. Effective product design requires technical knowledge of materials and manufacturing, creative skill in generating and communicating ideas, and the analytical ability to evaluate whether a solution actually solves the problem it was designed for.

At the University of the West of England in Bristol, this three-year full-time programme develops all three of those capacities. You will work on projects that take you from initial research and concept development through prototyping and testing to final design solutions, developing skills in user research, sketching and 3D modelling, digital fabrication, materials selection, and design communication. The programme takes seriously the challenge of designing sustainably and responsibly, and asks you to consider the social and environmental implications of the things you create.

A sandwich year places you in professional design practice for a sustained period, and work placement experience is integrated throughout, giving you the industry connections and portfolio depth that employers look for.

Graduates from product design programmes work as industrial designers, UX designers, product developers, design consultants, and in roles across manufacturing, technology, healthcare devices, furniture, and consumer goods. The combination of creative and analytical skills the degree develops also transfers into service design, innovation management, and design research. Postgraduate study in product design, design innovation, and sustainable design is available for those who wish to specialise or move into research and academic practice.